This recipe was created for Club House for Chefs by: Sean MacDonald, Executive Chef of Hexagon Restaurant and 7 Enoteca in Oakville, ON.
For the Butter Poached Lobster Tail: Place a medium sized pot of water over high heat. Add two handfuls of salt to the water and bring to a boil. Place sauce pot on stove over medium heat. Using the back of a knife, hit the lemongrass to open it up and release oils. Place lemongrass in sauce pot and toast. Once you can smell the aroma of the lemongrass beginning to toast, turn the heat down to low and add butter, garlic and lemon zest. Let pot sit over low heat to steep the flavours into the butter. Place raw lobster tails on a cutting board. Slide the handle of a spoon down the back side of the tail, between the flesh and shell. This will keep the tail straight while and after you cook them. Place tails in boiling water and remove after 2 ½ minutes. Place them in an ice bath and let sit until their internal temperature is cold. Remove them from shells and refrigerate until finishing the dish. After the butter has steeped at least 30 minutes, strain off ingredients from the butter and discard them. Keep the flavoured butter in a food safe container until you need it.
For the Green Curry Rutabaga Puree: Place butter in a medium sized pot over medium high heat. Once butter has melted, add onions. Sweat them in butter until translucent. Add rutabaga and cook over low heat until very soft, about 30 minutes. Add Thai Kitchen Green Curry Paste. Cook for an additional 10 minutes. Transfer contents of the pot into a blender. Blend mixture until very smooth. Season puree with salt and lemon juice. Set it aside until needed, to finish the dish.
For the Puffed Wild Rice and Garlic Crumb: Place milk in a small pot on the stove. Using a knife slice garlic very thin, about ½ mm thick. Place garlic in cold milk. Turn stove to high heat and bring milk to a simmer. Remove pot from stove and let the garlic sit in milk for about 10 minutes to reduce the harshness of flavour. Strain garlic from milk and discard milk. Fill pot up with cold water and place garlic in the water. Place pot over high heat and bring back up to a simmer. Remove pot from heat and set aside for another 10 minutes. Pour oil into a separate pot and place over medium high heat. Using a thermometer, bring the oil up to 220 degrees Fahrenheit. Strain garlic from the water and lay it out on a paper towel to remove excess liquid. Put garlic in the hot oil and let fry for about 20-30 seconds. Remove garlic from oil and lay out on a fresh piece of paper towel. Season with salt. Increase oil temperature to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Carefully add wild rice to oil and fry for a few seconds until it puffs up. Transfer rice from oil to a piece of paper towel using a slotted spoon. Season with salt. Place garlic chips, puffed rice and radish in a bowl and mix until combined.
For Serving: Place lemongrass butter in a small pot over low heat. Place lobster tails in the warm butter and finish cooking for about 5 minutes. Lobster should be tender, not tough. Heat up rutabaga puree until hot and place in a dollop on a plate. Remove lobster tail from butter, season it if necessary with salt, and place lobster tail on the plate next to the puree. Sprinkle crumb on top of the tail and serve.
